SB 197

Under current law, every document submitted to the court must be signed by

a party or, if the party has an attorney, by the attorney. By signing the document,

current law provides that the person is certifying that the document is not presented

for any improper purpose, such as to harass or cause unnecessary delay, that the

claims made in the document are warranted by existing law or a nonfrivolous

argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of the law, that the allegations

presented in the document are likely to have evidentiary support, and that any

factual denials in the document are warranted by evidence or, if so identified,

reasonably based on a lack of information or belief. Currently, if the court determines

that any of these certifications are not true, the court may impose an appropriate

sanction on the responsible attorney or party. Under current law, the sanction must

be limited to what is sufficient to deter repetition of the conduct, and may include

payment of the reasonable attorney fees or other expenses resulting from the

improper conduct. A court may not impose monetary sanctions upon a represented

party for making a claim that is not based on existing law or a nonfrivolous argument

for the extension, modification, or reversal of the law, and before the court imposes

any monetary sanctions, the court must issue an order to show cause regarding the

dismissal or settlement of the claim.

Under this bill, in civil actions, a party or his or her attorney may be liable for

costs and fees for beginning, using, or continuing an action if that is done solely for

the purpose of harassing or maliciously injuring another and the party or attorney

knew that there was no reasonable basis in law for the conduct or no good faith

argument for an extension, modification, or reversal of the law. The bill allows a

party to an action to ask the court by motion to determine if another party has

violated these provisions, and if, by clear and convincing evidence, the court so finds,

the court may do one of the following:

1. If the offending party withdraws or corrects the improper conduct within 21

days or a time set by the court, award the moving party the actual costs incurred as

a result of the conduct, including reasonable attorney fees, taking into consideration

the offending party's mitigating conduct.

2. If the offending party does not timely withdraw or correct the improper

conduct, award the moving party the actual costs incurred as a result of the conduct,

including reasonable attorney fees.

Under the bill, if an award of costs for violating these provisions is affirmed on

appeal, the appellate court is required to send the action to the lower court to award

the damages necessary to compensate the successful party for the actual reasonable

attorney fees incurred in the appeal. In addition, if the appellate court finds that a

party has committed a violation of one of these provisions in an appeal, the appellate

court must, after completion of the appeal, send the action back to the lower court

to award the damages necessary to compensate the offended party for the actual